World AIDS Day 2013: A Day To Remember

World AIDS Day is held on December 1st each year and is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV and to commemorate people who have died. World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day and the first one was held in 1988.

On World AIDS Day, We Love Soaps would like to recognize some of the creative talents from world of soap operas who lost their lives due to complications from the AIDS virus. If someone is missing from the list, please let us know, and share your memories in our Comments section.

8 comments:

The talent lost forever with their passing is the real tragety. As you can see NOT all of them were gay. While some I never got see on their respective soaps it's still a heartfelt loss none the less. I miss them all, may they remain forever in our hearts & in eternal rest, but never forgotten.

There are a few names here, like Bernau & Crothers, where I suspected AIDS due to the sudden and youthful natures of their deaths, but I don't recall this was ever confirmed by the soap press. Of course, some of this was due to the enduring stigma of HIV/AIDS.

imho - Looking for confirmation in the "soap press" from that era might be the last place you'd find it. As former TV Guide columnist, Daniel R. Coleridge detailed in his book The Q Guide to Soap Operas, the soap press behaved more or less like the old film magazines from the 40s - knowing far more than they reported and choosing not to report the "scandalous," which could prevent future access to the show(s). As for Joel Crothers, I know his death due to the complications of AIDS was confirmed in Craig Hamrick's biography of Louis Edmonds, Big Lou. From what I know, Hamrick was not just one of the most respected historians of DS, but also a true friend to many cast members. IOW, if he wrote it, you could believe it.

Guys, you are perpetuating a rumor about Raul Julia. He died from a stroke that started with bad sushi on top of surgery for what was probably stomach cancer. Enough wonderful people (love you, Mark and Kenn) died from AIDS without having to add others who didn't.

Hate adding names to this list, but there's also actor Robert La Tourneaux [1945-86], most famous for playing the dim-witted cowboy in both the off-Broadway and film versions of The Boys in the Band, who'd previously played Dr. Mike Powers in THE DOCTORS. He spoke about how hard it was getting roles after the 1970 film was released, not just because of typecasting, but because he was an openly-gay actor even then. The rest of his life is rather sad, and towards the end, he was forced to go to court to fight his NYC landlord from evicting him, because he had a live-in caregiver staying with him.